Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership
Chamber Confidential
Volume 3, Number 4
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Updates Business Relocation Assistance Program, click here. Commercial Real Estate Investment Information, click here. Upcoming events and Membership news, click here. Hurricane Katrina Relief Information, click here. ChamberPlus, Inc. news, click here. Governmental Relations news, click here. Workforce Development news, click here. Economic Development news, click here. Community Development news, click here. Leadership Jackson news, click here. Updated list of new members, click here. New Photo Gallery Pictures, click here. .jpg) Did you know that the Chamber could save you money on Office Products? Click here to find out how!
Receiving bad checks? Click here to find out how the chamber can save your business time and money on check recovery! Click here to view the 2006 Executive Committee & Board of Directors Special Thanks to our Diamond Level Investors
Platinum Level Investor
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Lewis Slater,
Senior Vice-President, Governmental Relations
Two Opportunities --Too Good to Miss!
The MetroJackson Chamber, as a membership organization, is always on the alert for useful information to pass on to its members. As a result of state and federal legislation in 2005, new opportunities have been created to assist businesses with workforce training, new tax credits, and additional depreciation allowances. These incentives are just too important to be ignored. They have the potential to lower your workforce training costs, raise your depreciation, and increase your profits.
Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005
This act was passed by Congress in late 2005 to assist businesses affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In Mississippi, all counties below a Vicksburg to Columbus line and a few counties above that line are included in the “zone”. Of Mississippi’s eighty-two counties, forty-eight are included in the zone. This act provides fifteen types of assistance categories. Some are for the state, some for municipalities, and some are for businesses.
The main incentives for businesses are the following:
- Increased rehabilitation tax credit to help restore commercial buildings.
- Fifty percent (50%) bonus depreciation within the zone. This incentive allows businesses to claim an additional first-year depreciation deduction equal to 50% of the cost of new property and equipment investments made in the zone through 2007 or through 2008 for real property.
- Extends the net operating loss carry back from two to five years.
For details, call Ross Tucker, Vice President for Economic Development, at 601-948-7575 or go online to http://www.mississippi.org/content.aspx?url=/page/3020&
Senate Bill 2480 Passed by Mississippi Legislature during 2005 Regular Session
This bill accomplished three things:
- Lowered the unemployment tax rate.
- Established a minimum fund balance of $500 million for state’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.
- Authorized $20 million a year for workforce training with initial priority for existing businesses.
For details, call the Workforce Training Coordinator at your local community college. In the Jackson area, Mike Blankenship (601-605-3315) at the Ridgeland Branch of Holmes Community College and Patsy Mayo (601-857-3427) at Hinds Community College are the Workforce Training Coordinators.
2006 Metro Legislative Agenda
A status report on the
2006 Metro Legislative Agenda may be found at
http://www.metrochamber.com/chamber/legislative_issues.asp
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